Pennsylvania Land Trust Association

Invites Land Trusts to Apply for a Grant for a

Guided Organizational Assessment

• Is your land trust working at full capacity, but wondering if it measures up?
  

  Download Application Form Send Completed Application to the Pennsylvania Land Trust Association by email or mail by February 27, 2008. Pennsylvania Land Trust Association 105 Locust Street, Suite 300 Harrisburg, PA 17101-1453 nfaraguna@conserveland.org Learn more by calling Andy Loza at (717) 230-8560.

• Is your organization poised to take the next steps to increase the pace of land protection?
  
• Is your board wondering how to identify key areas for improvement?
  
• Is your land trust planning to apply for Accreditation* sometime in the next few years?
• If “yes” is the answer to any of these questions, your organization could benefit from a guided organizational assessment.

* Accreditation requires that an organization complete an assessment against the full Land Trust Standards & Practices before applying.

What is a Guided Organizational Assessment?

• An engaging and intensive on-site assessment with a qualified professional of your choice.
  
• An objective tool to identify a land trust’s strengths and areas for improvement.
  
• A cooperative process to guide an organization towards full implementation of Land Trust Standards & Practices.
  
• A plan to assist a land trust in making improvements (including recommendations, sample documents and references to technical assistance).
  
• A great way to begin preparation for Accreditation.
  

What will it cost my organization?
Thanks to the William Penn Foundation, the PA Department of Conservation & Natural Resources, and the Land Trust Alliance, the Pennsylvania Land Trust Association is providing grants to eligible land trusts to support guided organizational assessments. The cost of an assessment would typically range between $2,500 to $4,000. However, with the grant support, the cost to the land trust is reduced to $500.

To be eligible for support, a land trust must:
1. Operate and be based in Pennsylvania.
2. Be a member of the Pennsylvania Land Trust Association.

What are our responsibilities?
During the three phases of the process your organization is responsible for:

• Completing a questionnaire and the Guided Organizational Assessment workbook, providing other information as needed, and participating in one or two conference calls to determine priorities. Each board member and staff member should anticipate spending 4 hours completing the workbook.
  
  
• Participating in a 4 - 6 hour facilitated assessment meeting using the Assessing Your Organization workbook as a guide.
  
  
• Implementing what was learned during the assessment and putting into practice recommendations provided in a written report.
  
  

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“To Assess” derives from the Latin verb “assidere,” to sit by (originally, as an assistant-judge in the context of taxes). Hence, in assessing your organization, the professional “sits with the land trust,” which indicates it is something that is done with and for the people of a land trust, rather than to them. Assessments are positive and powerful tools for land trusts.